Interview with Aleksandr Losyukov

Aleksandr Losyukov, head of the Russian delegation at the six-party talks, spoke to RT on the goals and achievements of negotiations with North Korea.

Aleksandr Losyukov: Six-party talks are aimed at the broader purpose of de-nuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Negotiations are intended to work out certain phases of achieving this goal. And exactly right now we are finding ourselves at the end of the first stage. The first stage brought us to freezing certain nuclear facilities in North Korea, including a five-megawatt nuclear reactor which was producing plutonium that could be used for military purposes, as you understand. And after this first stage we have to proceed further and start another stage at which we must take certain measures which would destroy those facilities.

Russia Today: North Korea has repeatedly demanded that in return for disarmament other countries must commit to complete two light-water reactors left partly built when a previous disarmament deal fell apart at the end of 2002. Will Russia participate in completing the construction?

A.L.: I think it is too early to speak about creating some new nuclear reactor in North Korea. I think that at a certain stage in the future probably there would be a conversation about that.

RT: Speaking in Beijing on Wednesday, the Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister said the U.S. would lead the disarmament programme and would provide the initial funding for the activities. Will Russia also take part in it?

A.L.: This is true that according to our agreement the U.S. would lead the group. That means that there would be a bigger group of American specialists who would go to Yongbyon and examine those facilities, again with the purpose of defining how we can disable them. Our expert will participate. We are providing some assistance to North Korea as we agreed, and we are doing it by certain parts.

RT: What is the main, the final purpose of de-nuclearisation of the peninsula?

A.L.: The main purpose of de-nuclearisation is to destroy all the facilities which are producing components of nuclear weapons.

RT: And when approximately this goal could be accomplished?

A.L.: I think it would take quite some time, probably years. But we don’t have to be discouraged by that.